Mixtures of cationic guar (cat-guar) or cationic hydroxyethylcellulose (cat-HEC) with the anionic surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate or sodium lauryl ether-3 sulfate have been investigated by a wide range of complementary techniques (phase studies, turbidity measurements, dynamic light scattering, gel-swelling experiments, and in situ null ellipsometry), with the following objectives in mind: (1)

Background. Vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) is a widely used therapy in patients with poststernotomy mediastinitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate sternal stability during VAC application at seven negative pressures (-50 to -200 mm Hg) in a porcine wound model. Methods. Six pigs underwent median sternotomy and 2 steel wires were fixed at each sternal side and connected to a traction device. T

Between 1992 and 2004, 1,140 children (1 to < 15 years) were diagnosed with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in the Nordic countries. Of these, 288 (25%) were positive for t(12; 21)(p 13;q22) [ETV6/RUNXI]. G-banding analyses were successful in 245 (85%); 43 (15%) were karyotypic failures. The modal chromosome numbers, incidence, types, and numbers of additional abnormalities, ge

Ultrafiltration failure ( UFF) is a common complication of long- term peritoneal dialysis ( PD). Functionally UFF is in most cases characterized by an enhanced peritoneal mass transfer area coefficient for glucose ( PSg) combined with a largely unchanged peritoneal glucose osmotic conductance ( LpS sigma(g)). Morphologically, marked UFF occurs with fibrosis of the submesothelial zone in the perito

In this article, we demonstrate that interaction of human papillomavirus-like particles (HPV-VLPs) with the putative glucosaminoglycan binding receptor is strictly dependent on conformational integrity. Such conformations are present on VLPs and capsomeres but not on monomers of the major capsid protein, L1, confirming reports that capsomeres can induce virus-neutralizing antibodies. Furthermore,

In running waters, chemical cues have generally been assumed to always come from upstream locations. Here, we present ¢eld and laboratory evidence that Gammarus pulex can use chemical cues from down- stream predators to adaptively adjust drifting behaviour. In the ¢eld, signi¢cantly fewer Gammarus migrated into stream enclosures where brown trout (Salmo trutta) were present than into control enclo

Carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and radiocarbon (14CO2) measurements have been made in Heidelberg from 2001 to 2004 in order to determine the regional fossil fuel CO2 component and to investigate the application of CO as a quantitative tracer for fossil fuel CO2 (CO2(foss)). The observations were compared with model estimates simulated with the regional transport model REMO at 0.5° × 0

A multi-disciplinary study is being carried out on recharge to the Karoo sandstone aquifer in the western part of Zimbabwe, where recharge is controlled by the presence of a thick, confining basalt layer. The aquifer is geographically extensive, and has been identified throughout the southern part of the mid-Zambezi basin (Fig. 1). The potential for groundwater abstraction seems to be huge. The ke

We describe how upper limb amputees can be made to experience a rubber hand as part of their own body. This was accomplished by applying synchronous touches to the stump, which was out of view, and to the index finger of a rubber hand, placed in full view (26 cm medial to the stump). This elicited an illusion of sensing touch on the artificial hand, rather than on the stump and a feeling of owners

Cell matrix adhesion is required for cell proliferation and survival. Here we report that mutation by gene targeting of the cytoplasmic tail of beta(1) integrin leads to defective proliferation and survival both in vivo and in vitro. Primary murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) derived from mutant homozygotes display defective cell cycle coupled to impaired activation of the FAK-P13K-Akt and Rac-JN

Using photoelectron spectroscopy, we demonstrate how the self-assembling process of cluster formation in an adiabatic expansion leads to radial segregation and layering as well as to variable surface composition for binary Ar/Xe clusters. The radial structuring can be qualitatively understood from the different interatomic bonding strengths of the two components.

There is a paucity of empirical research on the impact of delirium on professionals' reactions, interpretations or attitudes to people in a delirious state. This is striking because it stands to reason that it is demanding to take care of a person who is disoriented, perhaps agitated and who may hallucinate and/or act in a manner that calls for interventions involving the use of force or actions t

Our purpose is to find factors that are important for expected returns and risk of Swedish industrial portfolios during 1980–1997. The tested factors are supposed to be essential for a small open economy. We take into account the small sample problem that surfaces in the form of firms dominating the value weighted test portfolios. An extreme bound analysis (EBA) investigates the robustness of the

Anesthetized, paralyzed and mechanically ventilated pigs were hypoventilated to extreme hypercapnia (PaCO2 approximately 20 kPa) at FiO2 0.5, and allotted to receive hypothermia (approximately 31.5 degrees C) and buffer infusion, (HB-group, n = 6) or to a hypothermic control group (H-group, n = 6). The HB-group had higher arterial pH (7.34 vs 7.09, P < 0.01) and plasma bicarbonate (58.8 vs 35.4 mm

If the release mechanisms during selective chemical extraction of persistent organic pollutants (POP) mimic release mechanisms in natural systems during biological uptake, then a selective non-exhaustive extraction could give a quantitative measure of the bioavailable POP fraction. Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) is suggested as a possible technique to estimate the amount of bioavailable poly

Aims: Utilization of cheap and readily available agricultural residues as cheap carbon sources for poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) production by Halomonas boliviensis. Methods and results: Wheat bran was hydrolysed by a crude enzyme preparation from Aspergillus oryzae NM1 to provide a mixture of reducing sugars composed mainly of glucose, mannose, xylose and arabinose. Growth of H. boliviensis using